Month: April 2023

The Louisiana State University Tigers women’s basketball team is dominating the headlines. Yesterday (April 2), after winning the NCAA tournament championship, several players, including Angel Reese, as well as the head coach Kim Mulkey, was thrust into the spotlight. However, there’s another breakout player that was already in the limelight prior to joining the team, but for another reason.

Guard Flau’jae Johnson was killing it on the mic before she ever found success with a basketball. Known musically known as Flau’jae, the Savannah, Georgia native has simultaneously maintained her athletic career with her passion for music. Flau’jae was featured on season three of the reality music competition show The Rap Game hosted by Jermaine Dupri, earned the first gold buzzer on America’s Got Talent for rap, and is currently signed to Roc Nation.

As her team celebrated their championship victory in the stadium you could hear Flau’jae’s song “Big 4” playing over the stadium’s speakers. When asked about her feelings by sports journalist Autumn Johnson, Flau’jae declared, “They just played my song while I’m holding the national championship trophy. Quit playing with me, man.”

That’s not the only rockstar moment, the hooper has also received compliments from Lil Wayne, who also Facetimed her after one of the team’s victories to congratulate them on their performance.

As for whether her future plans will focus solely on basketball or her music career, Flau’jae’s answer lie in her song’s lyrics, “Are you gonna rap or be an athlete / If I’m still doing both why you asking me?”

The Raw after WrestleMania 39 appeared to be heading directly into Cody Rhodes’ redemption after losing the main event against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The show opened with Rhodes teaming with an unlikely contender in Brock Lesnar against the Tribal Chief and Solo Sikoa, but ended with a detour.

In the opening minutes of the show, Rhodes demanded a rematch against Reigns after Sikoa cost him the belt the night before. When Reigns declined, Paul Heyman granted his request for a tag team match under stipulations that they must have wrestled at WrestleMania and they won’t be eligible for a championship match as long as Reigns holds the belts. Lesnar answered the call, but his loyalty to Rhodes didn’t last long.

As Rhodes made his entrance into the ring, Lesnar attacked him with an F-5 and continued to brutalize him around the ring.

Lesnar proceeded to throw Rhodes over the barricade, hit him with a steel chair, F-5 him through the announce table, F-5 him onto the stairs, and eventually ended the night by giving double middle fingers as the show went off the air.

For now, Rhodes’ return to the gain revenge on Reigns and earn his way back to the top looks like it’ll have to go through Lesnar first.

It’s been a good long while since the Harry Potter film series ended. Seriously, it’s been a dozen years as of his summer. Yes, there’s been the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, but those sure haven’t been even remotely as beloved as the ones about Harry himself. It’s no surprise HBO Max has been trying to turn it into a TV series, which they’ve been doing almost as long as the streamer has been alive. Now it appears the wheels are truly in motion, partly thanks to the involvement of the most controversial person involved in the IP.

That, of course, is Harry’s creator, J.W. Rowling, who decided that it was more important to speak out against transgender people than to be loved by fans of her work. While she’s alienated scores of her readers, she evidently hasn’t enraged those at Warner Bros. Discovery. Indeed, as per Deadline, execs and Rowling are reportedly in talks to make that TV series a reality.

For anyone trying to milk more cash from the Harry Potter-verse, Rowling’s involvement is a must. She has creative control over any take on her work, so a Harry series without her ain’t happening.

The series will reportedly be a reboot, with each season tackling a different Potter installment. Daniel Radcliffe, who shot to stardom after first playing Harry — and who recently moderated a discussion with trans youth for a YouTube series — has spoken about knowing he’ll see more Harrys in his lifetime. He even once shared his creative idea for a spinoff, which mischief-making group comprised of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Harry’s dad James Potter. Clearly HBO Max execs didn’t catch that one.

(Via Deadline)

Following the wildly successful release of Drake and 21 Savage’s collaboration album Her Loss, tickets to see them live were as high as a thousand bucks a pop. Fans were outraged about that, so they’re certainly not going to want to see the price Drake is charging to record in his home studio.

The “Hotline Bling” rapper’s home studio was found on StuFinder, a popular app used to find places to record music. The listing said that the studio was $250,000 per hour. Better be quick in there!

In a recent interview with Lil Yachty, Drake discussed regretting using ex-girlfriends’ names in his music. “The lyrics are never with ill intent,” he explained, “but I had somebody say one time, ‘You know, it’s not necessarily what you’re saying about me; it’s the fact that you said it. Just in the sense of, ‘You don’t know what it does to me. You don’t know who my boyfriend is at the time. You don’t know what my family or doesn’t know, and if you express any form of [ill will] for me in a song and call me by name, then all of a sudden, I’m left to pick up the pieces of my own life that I’ve tried to build up for myself.’”

Nicki Minaj brags about not having any musical competition and in some cases that may be true but the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rapper just took a minor loss in the court of law. Although the songwriter did secure a default judgement in February against a YouTuber who failed to respond to her defamation lawsuit. However, according to Vibe, Minaj’s luck did not pull through in her defamation case against lawyer Tyrone Blackburn.

The outlet is reporting that the musician’s motion to sanction Blackburn, the legal representative for her husband Kenneth Petty’s rape accuser (Jennifer Hough) was denied by the East New York judge presiding over the case.

In his statement to the court obtained by AllHipHop, Judge James R. Cho stated, “The court does not find Hough’s decision to pursue a motion for default judgment against [Nicki] sanctionable, notwithstanding [Nicki’s] claim that the motion lacked merit.”

Judge Cho continued, “Here, [Hough] did not have an obligation to withdraw her motion for default judgment against Nicki simply because counsel for [Nicki] considered the motion ‘frivolous.’”

On the other hand the judge was sure to drill home the point that Hough’s attorney still has a long way to go in this ongoing battle. “Blackburn should not take the denial of the motion for sanctions as in any way endorsing his behavior,” said Judge Cho.

The rapper and her husband have been battling with Hough in court since she filed suit against the couple in August 2021. In her suit, Hough accused them of defamation and witness intimidation.Minaj has continously denied the allegation.

The case reportedly gotten so bad that according to the outlet, in December 2022, a judge allegedly ordered Petty and Hough to come a settlement but that has yet to had.

Two years after stealing the show at WrestleMania 37, it appears that Bad Bunny is angling for a return to the ring.

WWE has been hyping Bunny’s return to the promotion over the last month as he’s set to host the premium live event Backlash in Puerto Rico on May 6. He first got involved in the lead-up to that event at WrestleMania 39, stopping Dominik Mysterio from hitting his dad with a chain and helping Rey Mysterio get the win on the Grandest Stage of ‘Em All.

On Monday night at the Raw after WrestleMania, that feud continued when Dominik cost his father a match against Austin Theory, then proceeded to give him a beatdown after the bell. Dominik then spotted Bunny at ringside and went to give him a piece of his mind. Bunny responded by connecting on a straight right to Dominik, which led to Bunny’s former partner, Damian Priest, tossing him over the ringside barricade. Back on his feet, Bunny attacked Dominik again before Priest hit him with a short clothesline and then choke slammed him through the announce table.

No match has been set as of this writing, but it appears WWE is setting things up for Bunny — who, it must be said, can really go — to return to action.

Clairo recently collaborated with Phoenix for a remix of their effervescent song “After Midnight.” Now, the star is already back with more material for fans, this time a one-off track called “For Now.”

“For Now” is a straight-up love song, a piano-driven ballad that doesn’t hesitate to be sunk into vulnerability and romance: “Loving you is simple, sweet, and I’m bound to fall / Because I’m loving you for now,” she sings thoughtfully. It’s only available on Bandcamp because proceeds go to two non-profit organizations, For The Gworls and Everytown.

Clairo’s most recent album, 2021’s Sling, was a beautiful blast of tame indie. At the time, she shared that she almost quit music before making it. “I was pissed off,” she said. I was pissed off that that’s a part of this and that I’m just supposed to accept the fact that that’s a part of it. I have moments where I wonder if it even matters what I write. I put in so much effort, but is it going to get to a point where I’m just overly sexualized again? You’re so desperate for someone to hear you out that you just let them do it.”

Listen to “For Now” below.

https://clairecottrill.bandcamp.com/track/for-now

Heat wasn’t a box office smash when it was released in 1995, but it didn’t take long for it to become a home video phenomenon. Last year writer-director Michael Mann even released a sequel — not as a film but as a novel, called, simply, Heat 2. It would be impossible to make with its original cast, for various reasons. Still, Mann expressed hope that a film, even with a new cast, could be done. Now it appears the wheels are in motion.

Deadline reports that Warner Bros., who released the original, is in talks to handle the nearly 30-years-later sequel, with Mann returning (though it’s unclear if he’ll direct as well). There have been lots of rumors about who could play who, but right now there’s ony one name officially on the table: Adam Driver, who stars in Mann’s next film, Ferrari. If all works out, Driver would take on young Neil McCauley, the professional thief played by Robert De Niro.

Will Al Pacino, who played LAPD detective Vincent Hanna, get his wish and have Timothée Chalamet play the younger him? Who’s to say. There has been lots of rumors or simply fan talk of bringing Pacino back, presumably with the de-aging CGI that made him decades younger in Martin Scorsese’s own Pacino-De Niro picture, The Irishman. But so far the only credible rumors involve Mann and Driver.

Heat 2 was released last summer to rave reviews and strong sales. Written by Mann and Meg Gardiner, the book is both a sequel and a prequel, beginning in the immediate aftermath of Neil’s death then jumping around in time, even showing the characters when they were younger. Mann and Gardiner could do that because it was a book, and in a book you can do anything. But movies are magic, too. They’re just trickier to pull off.

(Via Deadline)

Heat wasn’t a box office smash when it was released in 1995, but it didn’t take long for it to become a home video phenomenon. Last year writer-director Michael Mann even released a sequel — not as a film but as a novel, called, simply, Heat 2. It would be impossible to make with its original cast, for various reasons. Still, Mann expressed hope that a film, even with a new cast, could be done. Now it appears the wheels are in motion.

Deadline reports that Warner Bros., who released the original, is in talks to handle the nearly 30-years-later sequel, with Mann returning (though it’s unclear if he’ll direct as well). There have been lots of rumors about who could play who, but right now there’s ony one name officially on the table: Adam Driver, who stars in Mann’s next film, Ferrari. If all works out, Driver would take on young Neil McCauley, the professional thief played by Robert De Niro.

Will Al Pacino, who played LAPD detective Vincent Hanna, get his wish and have Timothée Chalamet play the younger him? Who’s to say. There has been lots of rumors or simply fan talk of bringing Pacino back, presumably with the de-aging CGI that made him decades younger in Martin Scorsese’s own Pacino-De Niro picture, The Irishman. But so far the only credible rumors involve Mann and Driver.

Heat 2 was released last summer to rave reviews and strong sales. Written by Mann and Meg Gardiner, the book is both a sequel and a prequel, beginning in the immediate aftermath of Neil’s death then jumping around in time, even showing the characters when they were younger. Mann and Gardiner could do that because it was a book, and in a book you can do anything. But movies are magic, too. They’re just trickier to pull off.

(Via Deadline)

Davido’s disappearance from the public spotlight wasn’t something he had planned in advance. However, following the tragic death of his young son in November, the Nigerian Afropop star and his partner Chioma Rowland took time to mourn privately as a family. Then nearing the end of March, the musician to social media to surprise fans with a heartfelt note.

“Thank you to everyone out there for your love and support that has held me down. All the love and messages while I was away, the gifts sent, the concerts you all threw! I appreciate it all,” wrote Davido.

Also included in the post was the news that his third album, Timeless would be hitting streaming platforms soon. Now with the album officially available to the public, streaming titan Apple Music shared that the project broke one of its global records.

Shared to the company’s Twitter page, Apple Music revealed Davido is breaking global records on. The Nigerian superstar’s [album] Timeless had the most first-day streams ever for an African album on Apple Music.”

To which Davido, quote tweeted to humbly reply, “God is too good!”

Apple Music wasn’t the only streaming platform, Davido’s new album broke records. AudioMach, also shared that Timeless now holds its record for the highest streams for within album in 24 hours.

Timeless is now via Davido Music Worldwide and Sony Music Entertainment. Find more information here.